On the side of reality, it’s just too dang hot to be bent over a train handling switching and uncoupling. Much nicer to sit in the shade and watch your train travel over new vistas… I think of my railroad as more of a Scenic Line than a freight hauler.
Happy Rails o’ bowl of spaghetti …
John
I guess I am the middle of the road. I want to have both. In every plan I have come up with, I have swayed between all roundy round and all operations but never reached the poles. I have to have both. This one is much more operations focused but still has a loop for just running trains. Like you John, I like to sit and ponder, and having a train rumbling along while I sit in my chair with iced tea and just day dream about what could be, would be nice. But I also get board quickly with just having trains going around. I much more enjoy have a purpose to my running. So in my little empire I am striving like heck to have it all. I will shoe horn it in somewhere.
Nice thing is I don’t have the heat issue you do.
Well the plans for this weekend have changed. The wife isn’t done with the painting yet like I thought she was and has insisted I not build any more bench work until she gets it done. And she won’t let me do it, though I am not sure why, other than I have no patience for it and usually looks like crap when I do it. So there are two things I let her do and don’t mess with it; mowing and painting.
But this is not a show stopper; its just redirection and probably a good one. My reversing loop is a limiting factor. So this weekend I want to get the ladder built for the reversing loop and then put in the area that will be the Tiger Mill which is the small yard area off the loop that serves as the terminus of the railroad. This will in turn define where the wye will go exactly and I can then Know where to locate that bench work. To do this I need to finally move that tire, haul in some rock to build up the raised bed, and then level off the dirt mound to 22" above “zero”. Zero is the level of the concrete pad the cabinet sets on from here all the footings for the bench work will be set to that level. So the top of the ladder will set to 22" above that. That will be a lot to get in this weekend.
Having that done and the yard done really define my railroad. this will govern all else. from heights to locations to what can be accomplished. All of it depends on these two pieces. So this is a great next step to get that in place. So I hope to show pictures on Sunday of the completed lower reversing loop and yard ladder/bench work maybe even with track on it.
… come on Sunday!
My original tri-oval quickly bored me once I got the hang of these toys. Today’s compromise are two large reverse loops with 2 routes between them including a cross over … for my budget and my new desire to cut way back on maintenance I hope it works…
Now defend your life (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)! I say that with good nature when friends get defensive, cause if you’re happy we’re happy.
John
Lol I am always happy.
Devon, I am middle of the road too, which means we will get hit from people on both side, but I want to be able to go out and build a train go set out and pick up cars, do some train things, then roll around the layout a few times. And I want something that will JUST wander around in true Roundy Round style if people want to watch as they look at the amazing scenery and award winning scratchbuilt structures. All this and more ! Ok its been a long week. I will be thrilled if a train ever get around anywhere outside in my yard.
So I have gotten a bit done. FOrgot I have Monday also so I might get quite a bit done. It started Friday with a whole pile of lumber.
This should be the majority of what I will need for the bench work. I also got enough Redwood for the reverse loop ladder. On Thursday I had went to Chuck’s and got the templates for the ladder construction. I spent the rest of Friday starting on the ladder. Saturday consisted of making all the ladder for the reverse loop and its associated sidings and turnouts.
And here is the completed ladder
After this I went out and moved the tire and used some old cedar beams to build a wall along the fence to hold the dirt. I moved some dirt around and the began to layout the ladder. And boy is it all messed up. It is way bigger than I expected. And I will no longer have a walkway between the loop and the bench work. This will require me to make a walking path with steps up and over the track. I have some ideas on this. Not how I wanted but I can make it all work. I will get it in there. I refuse to be daunted. One thing I will have to do is drop the loop a bit and will end up with a 3% grade. Steeper than I want but I think It will be OK. I have run on Dave Goodsens’ 4% and think this is something that will just have to be lived with.
More Pics as I proceed over the weekend.
Oh, Oh! don’t be hasty, Devon!
you have a reputation to loose…
Devon,
Just like was said. It never turns out as it looks on paper. You will prevail! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)Keep up the good work my friend.
Korm,
I might have a reputation to lose, but I am really about where I expected to be. See it pretty much is going as planned, well at least timing wise. I figure I am maybe a weekend or two behind. I wanted to have most all the track laid by the end of Oct. I will be close.
Joe,
I hate to admit it but you all are right. It just isn’t coming together the way it’s drawn. Not that I am surprised or doubted anyone, but I had hoped. It’s just that everything is turning out bigger. But having a plan has helped. At least I am aiming for a target, I just ain’t a very good shot, lol
Devon, maybe you should have laid it out in place to see how things fit. I laid out an old garden hose where my track would eventually be, so I could adjust the plan to fit the space I had.
according to plan…
it is a well established knowledge in the military worldwide, that no plan survives the first attack.
Devon Sinsley said:
It just isn’t coming together the way it’s drawn. Not that I am surprised or doubted anyone, but I had hoped. It’s just that everything is turning out bigger. But having a plan has helped. At least I am aiming for a target, I just ain’t a very good shot, lol
Just don’t get bogged down trying to match what you’ve drawn on paper. A lot of times you’re imagination will see a better way in the light of day, then what you saw putting it down on paper. Most of the time a plan will just show you what will fit in a certain sized area, and how big that area needs to be. What you eventually end up with can be completely different. What ever you do, don’t try to force it to match what’s on paper. Let your mind’s eye, your imagination, tell you which way to go.
I spent all of one winter putting on paper what I would like. What I ended up with doesn’t match any of that. Except in size and even that ended up different.
Oh I am well beyond sticking to the plan. The plan always was just conceptual. Like you said Ken it gave me an idea of what could fit sorta. It let me get an idea of how I could tie the elements I want together in the space I have. It also helped me visualize the slope I would need and where to place the grade separated crossing.
But now it’s imagination time. The plan is there guiding but the space is dictating.
David,
The hose idea would have yielded the same results as the computer plan. I did go out and drew an 8 foot circle problem is I didn’t build an eight foot circle, it’s quite a bit bigger once I put small sections of 10 easement curve and matched up #6 turnouts. All of that stretched it. It was a case of after I built it of it just being too big. The wye did the same thing.
There is just one big problem that could not be adjusted and that is the space being 12.5 feet wide. If you want a continuous run you have to make a loop. And that I am finding takes more space than I expected. Then I complicated things by making it grade separated.
I am in no way discouraged. I actually rather enjoy these challenges. It stretches the imagination and engineering skills. I learned a saying in the Corp that has stuck with
When adversity presents itself adapt and overcome
I am all over it
Yea, well I did adapt my plan, in that my one loop was made to around 9.5 foot diameter instead of 10 foot. That is so that the fill it rests on didn’t extend past my property line. And the run into Shannon ended up being a bit longer then planned, so I could reduce my grade. I like the long meandering track into Shannon, and I am glad it had to work out that way. I probably should have extended it another 2 feet, but it works and looks good where it is.
Heh. In my experience, a plan just gives you a basic idea.
My plan didn’t last long at all once I encountered reality.
However, like Devon is doing, I adapted to the terrain and made a number of changes that I actually like a whole lot better.
Devon, your “benchwork” looks VERY nice.
Bruce,
Thats it in a nutshell. I spent the winter day dreaming, scheming, conceptualizing, refining what I actually want, and then ended up with a plan that is now rapidly devolving. But with that said, The basic plan is still sorta there . . . well of course that depends on which plan we are talking about (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif). It looks nothing like the very first plan for the space. The plan helped me work out what I wanted. Now there is reality and making it fit.
On that note. Here is an example of the first bought with reality verses plan. So I wanted a walkway between the apex of the reversing loop and the bench work against the house. I even modified the bench work to facilitate it. The space is 12.5 wide and on the computer this gave me roughly a 28" walkway between the two.
Then you can see in the picture above I built the entire reversing loop in my drive way to what actually works without going under an 8’ diameter curve. Well yesterday evening I was rewarded with the realization that the reversing loop, by the time I made the beam wall and stayed clear of that by 6", ended up actually a bit under the bench. So that meant I would need to build a step up onto the raised portion of the layout with a path along the bench and then a step down on the other side. This also meant i need to lower it some in order to make it so I could climb onto it.
Here is the result. The track is 12" under the the 2X4 stringers of the bench. The train can pass under it. To climb back up it will require a near 3% grade. The steps are built out of 2X8 so real vertical height is 22 1/2 inches. They are box construction so they will act also as a retaining wall. I will fill them with the same gravel as the paths. I built the track to run right through it and it acts as a support for the ladder. Then I needed a vertical wall to the left of the steps so that I could still open up the cabinet door. The path to the left is 31" wide and allows access to the yard. The vertical wall is 2X8 with 4X4 posted cemented into the ground. From the left side of this wall I will follow the curve of the track with a rock wall. There will be a matching set of stairs (half done in my garage) that will step down on the other side of the loop. The big down side to this is the 5 way switch will require a person to kneel down to operate. Not a deal breaker but that would have been nice to have waist high.
Edited to say: One concern I have is walking on the track. With it being in the middle of the step it will get stepped on. Being aluminum I don’t want it bent. So I have an idea, the PVC boards have a decent wood grain texture, so I am thinking of making strips out of it that are .250 (code 250) thick and whatever width and then laying them on the ties like they do on crossings and bridges. Painted brown they should look pretty good and hold up and protect the track. We are a ways off from that but its a solution to the problem.
pack the step full of crushed stone …has worked for me close to 10yrs now and I run wheel barrow loads over it as well.
Page 34?
Page 34 now?
